Year: 2000
Type: article
Abstract: Single dispatch involves performing at run-time a multi-way switch over the possible classes of the receiver. Most object-oriented systems implement this switch as an array lookup using a table-based technique or as a binary search using a tree-based technique. However, each of these is the best choice only under a particular circumstance; neither outperforms the other under all circumstances. In this paper, we present a time and space efficient implementation of the switch that employs the table-based technique when an array lookup outperforms a binary search and the tree-based technique when a binary search outperforms an array lookup. Further, when neither an array lookup nor a binary search is superior, our scheme blends the two techniques in a manner that gains the benefits of both without suffering the disadvantages of either. We relate our scheme to recent work and discuss extending it to implement multiple dispatch.
Source: ACM SIGPLAN Notices
Authors: Mayur Naik, Rajeev Kumar
Institution: Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani
Language: English
Subfield: Software
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2087055646